Cats, Camels, and Giraffes are the only quadupeds who walk with the 'side step'; i.e. they move both legs on the same side of the body when they walk. All others move opposite legs (front left with rear right) together when walking.

Cats, Camels, and Giraffes are the only quadupeds who walk with the 'side step'; i.e. they move both legs on the same side of the body when they walk. All others move opposite legs (front left with rear right) together when walking.

Cats, Camels, and Giraffes are the only quadupeds who walk with the 'side step'; i.e. they move both legs on the same side of the body when they walk. All others move opposite legs (front left with rear right) together when walking.

At slow speeds, most quadrupeds do it since they're better balanced that way (three legs on the ground as opposed to two. Now go to a museum that features posed skeletons, stuffed specimens or sculptures of quadruped animals walking. Odds are, they got the gait wrong.)

Cats, Camels, and Giraffes are the only quadupeds who walk with the 'side step'; i.e. they move both legs on the same side of the body when they walk. All others move opposite legs (front left with rear right) together when walking.

At slow speeds, most quadrupeds do it since they're better balanced that way (three legs on the ground as opposed to two. Now go to a museum that features posed skeletons, stuffed specimens or sculptures of quadruped animals walking. Odds are, they got the gait wrong.)

He's talking about the legs moving in pairs, producing a two-beat gait with the four legs. The walk is a four-beat gait as each leg moves on its own as you noted. In the trot each diagonal pair (LF and RH, RF and LH) moves, lands and pushes off together. In the pace - such as camels do - the lateral pair (the two legs on the same side: LF and LH, RF and RH) move in time. Pacing is a much less common gait.

From Wiki:

Quote

The Pace is a lateral two-beat gait. In the pace, the two legs on the same side of the horse move forward together, unlike the trot, where the two legs diagonally opposite from each other move forward together. In both the pace and the trot, two feet are always off the ground. The trot is much more common, but some horses, particularly in breeds bred for harness racing, naturally prefer to pace.

...With one exception, a fast pace is uncomfortable for riding and very difficult to sit, because the rider is moved rapidly from side to side. The motion feels somewhat as if the rider is on a camel, another animal that naturally paces.

All dogs pace at one time or another. It's a gait that offers more speed than the walk without the energy consumption of the trot, which is probably why it is seen as a lazy gait. It appears clumsy because the body shifts from side to side, in exactly the same fashion as the camel, nature's best pacer. In fact, what is happening is quite interesting. Normally, a leg, front or rear, must be hauled forward by muscular work, and then thrust forward with more muscular work. But at the pace, the slight shift of the body to one side allows the legs of the opposite side to be swung forward by pendulum action, with very little muscular exertion. The camel uses this gait because of the incredibly harsh nature of its environment and the shortage of resources. It cannot afford to expend a drop more energy than is required. Generally, it is movement without any period of suspension. This would require extra speed and exertion, which the pace is not intended to provide. The Standardbred pacing horse specializes in a highly artificial, high speed, suspended pace because of breeding, training and special harnesses. For the horse, this gait prevents hoof interference and injury, allowing a huge overreach which is more difficult to achieve at the trot.

Sorry to run on - quadrupedal gaits and their analysis and variations are something I deal with in detail on a daily basis. (Sigh) You hit one of my 'buttons'!

We actually had a whole family of giants from here in Hunt County that toured with P.T. Barnum back in the late 1800's/ They were four brothers, last name Shields, who all stood over seven feet tall! They were billed as the "Texas Giants."

What made Mills Darden so unique was not just his height but his enormous size. Seven feet tall and a thousand pounds - he weighed twice as much as Shaq!

Flower, gleam and glowLet your power shineMake the clock reverseBring back what once was mineHeal what has been hurtChange the fates' designSave what has been lostBring back what once was mineWhat once was mine.......